SCIAC Men's and Women's Divers Gear Up For Championships

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) men's and women's diving teams are set to begin action at the 2019 SCIAC Championships Saturday and Sunday, February 16-17 on the campus of Pomona-Pitzer.

Pomona-Pitzer secured its first-ever SCIAC title on the men's side and produced the 2018 SCIAC Athlete of the Year - Mark Hallman, and the 2018 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year in Lukas Ming Menkhoff.

In 2019, the Sagehens finished with an 8-0 mark during the dual-meet season, followed by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) with a 7-1 mark. Prior to last year, the Stags had claimed 10 straight conference championships (2008-17), while Redlands notched seven titles between 2001 and 2007.

Last year's diving competition saw CMS's Kendall Hollimon win both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events with respective scores of 554.80 and 616.80. In the 1-meter competition, Pomona-Pitzer's Bilguun Altantulkhuur finished second with a mark of 497.45, while the Bulldogs' Jacob Miner placed third with a score of 463.90. In the 3-meter event, Miner took second with an overall score 524.55, while Altantulkhuur posted a mark of 480.95.

The men's 1-meter SCIAC record is 628.60 set by James Stevick in 2015. Stevick also set the 3-meter bar in 2015 with a SCIAC record of 627.60.

The women's 2018-19 season saw the Athenas secure an 8-0 dual meet record, while Pomona-Pitzer was 7-1. The Sagehens are the defending SCIAC champions after winning the program's second title in three years. Madison Kauahi was named the 2018 SCIAC Athlete of the Year, while Whittier's Brooke Geske was tabbed the 2018 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year. Redlands earned SCIAC crowns in 2001 and 2002 before CMS claimed the next 13 titles before Pomona-Pitzer notched its first in 2016. The Athenas grabbed its 14th in 2017, before the Sagehens took their second in 2018.

In last year's 1-meter diving competition, CMS's Maia Presti clinched the title with a score of 505.85, followed by Chapman's Kellyn Toole who posted a score of 474.55 to place second. In third was Pomona-Pitzer's Emma van der Veen who logged a mark of 423.55.

The 3-meter event saw Toole win the gold with a score of 443.90, edging van der Veen (432.25) who finished second. The tightly-contested competition saw Presti take third with a score 423.05.

Presti owns the SCIAC record in the 1-meter dive with a score of 525.35 that she recorded in 2015. The 3-meter SCIAC record of 491.85 was set by Jessica Robson of Occidental in 2014.

Following the diving portion of the SCIAC Championships this weekend, the swimming portion will take place at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce, Calif. on February 21-24, hosted by Redlands.